U.S. patent number 4,086,925 [Application Number 05/731,598] was granted by the patent office on 1978-05-02 for medical drainage device with adjustable supporting strap.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Sherwood Medical Industries Inc.. Invention is credited to Larry H. Dodge.
United States Patent |
4,086,925 |
Dodge |
May 2, 1978 |
Medical drainage device with adjustable supporting strap
Abstract
A thoracic drainage device including a fluid collection chamber
for receiving drainage fluid from the pleural cavity of a patient
is provided with a strap capable of being used to conveniently
support the drainage device in various ways. The upper and lower
ends of the drainage device are provided with openings for
receiving the strap in each of a plurality of different device
supporting conditions. The strap can be adjusted so as to be
useable as a shoulder strap, a hand-held strap, a strap for hanging
the drainage device from a bed rail or other support, or in other
arrangements. The strap can be arranged to provide a relatively
short support without having unused portions dangling from the
device.
Inventors: |
Dodge; Larry H. (St. Charles,
MO) |
Assignee: |
Sherwood Medical Industries
Inc. (St. Louis, MO)
|
Family
ID: |
24940194 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/731,598 |
Filed: |
October 12, 1976 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
604/326;
128/DIG.24; 294/165; 604/327 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61M
1/61 (20210501); A61F 5/4408 (20130101); A61M
2209/082 (20130101); A61M 2209/088 (20130101); Y10S
128/24 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61F
5/44 (20060101); A61M 1/00 (20060101); A61J
001/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/272,295,2F,275,DIG.5,DIG.24 ;206/438 ;150/33
;224/46R,45H,55,58,45C,45P,49 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Michell; Robert W.
Assistant Examiner: Thaler; Michael H.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Garber; S. N. O'Meara; W. R.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A medical drainage device comprising a container for receiving
body fluid drainage from a patient, said container including fluid
inlet means adapted for fluid communication with a source of body
fluid drainage, an upper portion having two opposed sides with at
least one groove in each of said opposed sides extending laterally
inwardly from the outer periphery of said container, and a flexible
strap, means for connecting opposite ends of said strap to said
upper portion respectively adjacent said opposed sides, said strap
connecting means being spaced from said grooves, said strap and
each of said grooves being sized relative to each other to permit
movement of selected portions of said strap into said grooves to
provide a selected strap arrangement capable of supporting said
container.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein each of said grooves includes a
hole sized to receive said strap and an entrance slot extending
from the hole to the periphery of said container adjacent said hole
to allow insertion of said strap, side wall first, through said
entrance slot and into said hole.
3. The device of claim 2 wherein each of said holes and said slots
are sized slightly smaller in width than the width of said
strap.
4. The device of claim 3 wherein each of said slots has a portion
with a width smaller than the width of each of said holes.
5. The device of claim 4 wherein the length of said strap is
greater than the maximum peripheral distance around said
container.
6. The device of claim 5 wherein each of said opposed sides has
another groove similar to said one groove.
7. The device of claim 1 wherein said container is of plastic
material.
8. The device of claim 1 wherein said container comprises a lid
closing the upper end thereof, a liquid seal chamber, and a body
fluid collection chamber below said seal chamber, and fluid
connection means adapted for connection with a body cavity
extending through said lid and into said seal chamber, said seal
chamber being in fluid communication with said collection
chamber.
9. The device of claim 1 wherein said container is formed of
substantially rigid plastic, and said strap is formed of a plastic
which is more flexible than that of said container.
10. The device of claim 1 wherein said container has a lower end
portion with a peripheral skirt extending below the bottom of said
container, said skirt having a slot in said skirt at each side of
said container for receiving said strap to permit said strap to
extend along the bottom of said container substantially without
extending below the bottom of said skirt.
11. The device of claim 10 wherein said strap is longer than the
maximum periphery around said container and is formed of
plastic.
12. The device of claim 11 wherein said strap is capable of being
simultaneously disposed in each of said grooves and each of said
skirt slots and having a portion extending above said upper portion
of said container for supporting said container from a support
above said container.
13. The device of claim 11 wherein said strap is sufficienhy long
to support said container at the hip from a shoulder of an average
sized adult person.
14. A medical drainage device comprising a container for receiving
body fluid drainage from a patient, said container including fluid
inlet means adapted for fluid communication with a source of body
fluid drainage, an upper portion having a laterally outwardly
extending flange at each of two opposite sides thereof, each of
said flanges having at least one groove extending laterally
inwardly from the outer periphery of the flange, and a flexible
strap having opposite ends connected to said upper portion
respectively adjacent said opposite sides and at points spaced from
said grooves, said strap and each of said grooves being sized
relative to each other to permit laterally inward movement of said
strap, side wall first, into said grooves to provide selected strap
arrangements capable of supporting said container in different
ways, the width of said grooves being less than the width of said
strap so that outward lateral movement of said strap in said groove
is opposed by frictional engagement between the opposed side walls
of said grooves and said strap.
15. The device of claim 14 wherein said container has a lower end
portion with a peripheral skirt extending below the bottom of said
container, said skirt having a slot at each side of said container
for receiving said strap to permit said strap to extend along the
bottom of the container substantially without extending below the
bottom of said skirt.
16. The device of claim 15 wherein each of said grooves includes a
hole sized to receive said strap and an entrance slot extending
from the hole to the periphery of the flange to allow insertion of
said strap, side wall first, through the entrance slot and into the
hole.
17. The device of claim 15 wherein the medical drainage device is a
thoracic drainage device, said container includes a bottom wall
closing the bottom end and a lid closing the upper end, tube means
extending through said lid and into said container, said tube means
having means externally of said container for connecting fluid
coupling means thereto which is adapted for connection with the
pleural cavity of a patient.
18. The device of claim 17 wherein said container comprises a
liquid seal chamber, and a body fluid collection chamber below said
seal chamber, and, said seal chamber being in fluid communication
with said collection chamber.
19. The device of claim 17 wherein said container is formed of a
relatively hard plastic material, said strap is formed of a
relatively flexible plastic material, and the opposite ends of said
strap are respectively connected to said flanges.
20. The device of claim 14 wherein said strap is circular in
cross-section and is of plastic material.
21. The device of claim 14 wherein each of said grooves includes a
hole sized to receive said strap and an entrance slot extending
from the hole to the periphery of the flange to allow insertion of
said strap, side wall first, through the entrance slot and into the
hole.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to medical drainage devices and more
particularly to a body fluid drainage device having a strap capable
of supporting the device in various manners.
In body fluid drainage systems, such as a thoracic drainage system,
a catheter is positioned in the pleural cavity of the patient and
connected to a fluid drainage container or bottle. In the
well-known "one-bottle" system, a bottle vented to atmosphere is
provided with an initial amount of liquid and an inlet drainage
tube that extends to a point near the bottom of the bottle and
below the level of the liquid to provide a liquid seal between the
atmosphere and the pleural cavity. One of the disadvantages of such
an arrangement is that, as the level of liquid drainage rises above
the lower end of the tube, the force necessary to expel fluid from
the pleural cavity increases due to the increasing pressure head
above the tube outlet. In order to avoid this increasing liquid
head, the well-known "two-bottle" system employing a second bottle
as a series liquid seal between the atmosphere or a source of
vacuum and the first bottle may be used. In the latter arrangement,
the drainage tube in the collection chamber is near the top of the
bottle and is not immersed in the liquid.
The "two-bottle" arrangement is, of course, more complicated and
requires more space. When such bottles are glass bottles, they are
generally placed on the floor or other flat support because of the
shape of the bottles and because they are relatively heavy. Such
bottles are sometimes formed with a neck and jug-like finger hole
on the neck for carrying the bottle. However, when supported by the
finger hole, the bottle tilts because the hole is not on the
vertical axis of the bottle. Thus, glass bottles are heavy, require
considerable space, and the manner of positioning and supporting
glass bottles of this type is practically limited generally to
placing them on a flat support such as the floor of a room.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a medical
drainage device having improved means for supporting the device in
various selected ways.
Another object is to provide a body fluid drainage device which is
compact, highly effective in operation, relatively light in weight,
and has improved means for supporting the device in several
selected ways.
In accordance with one form of the present invention, a drainage
collection device is provided with a supporting strap having
opposite end portions connected to the device. The upper portion of
the device is provided with a plurality of spaced slots for
receiving the strap when the strap is in various selected
device-supporting arrangements.
These, as well as other objects and advantages of the present
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description and accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a thoracic drainage device in
accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention and shown
with the drainage device suspended from a rail;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the drainage device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the drainage device of FIG.
1;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the drainage device of FIG. l, on a
reduced scale, with the strap supporting the drainage device in a
somewhat modified manner;
FIG. 5 is an illustration of the drainage device of FIG. 1 on a
reduced scale and with the device being supported by an ambulatory
patient;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the drainage device of FIG. 1 on a
reduced scale with the strap in a transitory position preparatory
to connecting the strap in the final position shown in FIG. 7;
and
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the drainage device of FIG. 1 on a
reduced scale with the strap in a modified arrangement which
provides the drainage device with a looped handle.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1-3, there
is shown a medical thoracic drainage device 10 including a
container 12 for receiving body fluid from a patient, and a strap
14 for supporting the container in several different manners. The
container is shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 as being supported from a
rod or rail 16, such as a bed rail.
Container 12 is closed at the lower end by an integral bottom wall
18 and at the top by a cover or lid 20, as seen in FIG. 2 a fluid
inlet conduit or tube 22 extends through the cover 20 and into a
liquid seal chamber 24 mounted in the upper portion of the
container 12 such as on fixed wall abutments 25. A removable
threaded cap 26 on a threaded container neck (not shown) sealingly
secures the tube 22 in place on cover 20. The upper end of tube 22
is sealingly received within one end of a fluid conduit or tube 28
which is adapted to be connected to a catheter which, in turn, is
adapted for insertion into the pleural cavity of a patient to be
drained of fluid. The liquid seal chamber 24 is initially filled
with a liquid 29, such as a saline solution. The tube 22 extends
below the level of the liquid in chamber 24 to provide a liquid
seal for the pleural cavity of the patient. The upper end of the
seal chamber 24 is open about the tube 22 so that drainage liquid
from the pleural cavity will overflow the seal chamber and flow
over the top of the seal chamber and down the sided into a body
fluid collection chamber 30 located below the seal chamber. Because
the drainage liquid overflows chamber 24, there is a substantially
constant head above the lower end of tube 22 so that the force
necessary to expel fluid from the patient remains substantially
constant.
Any gas flowing from the pleural cavity will bubble up through the
liquid in the seal chamber 24, pass out the upper open end of the
seal chamber, and out a vent passage indicated at 32. The vent
passage 32 connects the interior of the container 12 above the
liquid seal chamber 24 either with the atmosphere, as shown, or
with a vacuum source, as desired or required. Where it is desired
to employ a vacuum, the vent passage 32 is connected by a tube (not
shown) to a source of vacuum and preferably to a source of
regulated vacuum for the protection of the patient. For a further
detailed description and operation of thoracic drainage devices of
this type, reference may be had to U.S. application Ser. No.
619,109, filed Oct. 2, l975, and U.S. application Ser. No. 633,873,
filed Nov. 20, l975, now Pat. No. 4,036,231, both of which are
assigned to the assignees of the present application.
The container 12 is generally oblong in cross-section and has an
upper half portion 36 and a lower half portion 38. The upper
portion 36 has flanges 40 and 42 at its opposite sides which extend
outwardly from the container. These flanges are shown as integral
extensions of the upper end 43 of the container.
A pair of holes 44 and 46 are respectively provided in flanges 40
and 42 that are on the lonitudinal center, that is, these holes are
intersected by a lateral axis indicated at 48 in FIG. 2. The strap
14 has its opposite ends, indicated at 50 and 52, passing through
the holes 44 and 46. The size of these holes and the diameter of
strap 14 are preferably made to effect a friction fit. A pair of
retaining members shown as crimped eyelets 54 and 56 are fixed to
the free ends 50 and 52 of the strap below the flanges 40 and 42,
the eyelets being larger than the holes 44 and 46 to prevent the
strap ends from becoming disconnected from the container 12.
Flange 40 is provided with a pair of grooves 58 and 60 on opposite
sides of hole 44, and flange 42 is provided with a pair of similar
grooves 62 and 64 on opposite sides of the hole 46. Each of the
four grooves is identical and includes a generally circular hole 66
located inwardly from the periphery of the flange in which it is
disposed, and an entrance slot 68 open to the periphery of the
flange and extending from the flange periphery inwardly and
connecting with the associated hole 66. The strap 14 can be
inserted, side wall first, into the hole 66 by moving it through
the entrance slot 68. For example, the longitudinal axis of the
strap 14 can be parallel with the axis of the hole 66 when the
strap is moved from the periphery of the flange into the hole. Each
of the four holes 66 has a size or diameter smaller than the
diameter of strap 14 to provide a friction fit. Each of the four
entrance slots preferably has a portion narrower than the diameter
of the strap so that the strap will not inadvertently slide out
during normal handling of the device but can be manually moved
through the slot.
The lower half portion 38 of the container 12, as best seen in
FIGS. 1 and 3, has a peripheral wall or skirt 70 extending
downwardly beyond the bottom wall 18 of the collection chamber 30 a
distance at least as great as the diameter of the strap 14, and
preferably greater. A pair of grooves 71 and 72 are respectively
located in the wall 70 and intersected by an axis parallel to the
axis 48 in FIG. 2. Grooves 71 and 72 extend to the bottom of the
container to receive the strap 14 and such that the strap can
extend vertically along the sides and along the bottom of the
container as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In this way, the strap, in
effect, is shortened at the top and without having a dangling
portion of the strap. Thus, an effectively shortened strap is
obtained for hanging the deivce 12 such as from the bed rail 16. In
this construction, the strap can extend along the bottom of the
container as shown and the container can be placed in a standing
position on a flat surface without interference from the strap.
In FIGS. 1 and 3, the container 12 is shown hanging from the bed
rail with the strap 14 extending from its ends, over the bed rail
16, down through slots 58 and 62, down the opposed sides of the
container, through the grooves 71 and 72, and along the bottom of
the container. In FIG. 4, the container 12 is similarly hung except
that the strap 14 extends through grooves 60 and 64. The device may
also be hung with the strap extending through slots 58 and 64 or
through 60 and 62.
FIG. 5 illustrates the use of the drainage device 12 and strap 14
arranged to be carried from the shoulder of a patient 74 such as in
the case of an ambulatory patient. In this strap adjustment or
arrangement, the full length of the strap is extended from its ends
and utilized to support the container 12. Tube 28 is shown
connected to a catheter 76 disposed in the pleural cavity of the
patient.
FIGS. 6 and 7 show another manner of employing the strap 14. In
this strap adjustment, the strap 14 is first looped as in FIG. 6,
and the upper end portion indicated at 14a is then moved down over
one side of the container and the strap inserted, for example, in
the front two grooves 60 and 64 and such that the upper end portion
14a extends around a part of the upper portion 36 of the container.
In the supporting arrangement shown in FIG. 7, the strap provides a
handle or hand strap that can be hand-held for transferring the
container.
The strap 14 can be utilized in still further arrangements not
illustrated. For example, instead of looping the strap around the
upper portion of the container, as shown in FIG. 7, the strap end
portion 14a could be looped around the bottom of the container so
that it passes through openings 71 amd 72 to thereby provide a hand
strap similar to that of FIG. 7 but which is shorter in length.
These strap arrangements provide for various amounts of strap
take-up and without producing a dangling strap portion.
The container 12 and chamber 24 are preferably formed of a
relatively rigid or hard transparent plastic material, for example,
a relatively hard transparent butadiene styrene, acetate butyrate
styrene or the like. By forming the container 12 and chamber 24
from plastic, the device is relatively light even where the
drainage container includes a collection chamber and a liquid seal
chamber, and it is readily adapted to be supported in various
manners, such as those shown herein. The strap 14 is preferably
formed from a relatively flexible, soft plastic such as polyvinyl
chloride.
The strap 14 is longer than the maximum peripheral distance around
the container 12. The strap is preferably sufficiently long to
support the container at the hip from the shoulder of the person
intending to use the drainage device.
In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects and
advantages of the invention are achieved and other advantageous
results obtained. As various changes could be made in the above
construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it
is intended that all matter contained in the above description and
shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as
illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
* * * * *